Can I share a secret with you guys real quick? I love found footage movies. As poorly acted, edited, and directed (if you can call it that) as these dime-a-dozen, Blair Witch copycats often are, found footage-style horror is uncommonly effective at making me — a big, strong tough guy who ain’t afraid of nuttin’ — leave the room mid-scene to answer an imaginary phone call, and I respect them for it. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that found footage movies are just about the creepiest movies out there, pound-for-pound (exception: anything from Japan).

Hollyweird (nailed it) apparently shares this sentiment, as found footage movies are quickly usurping zombie movies as the most played out form of horror film in today’s moviegoing market. This weekend, As Above/So Below will attempt to cash in on the trend by asking, “But what if we set the story in the catacombs below Paris?”, and just a few days ago, a trailer was released for The Pyramid, an upcoming found footage flick that is already being heralded as “As Above/So Below meets Indiana Jones meets your family vacation to Wekiwa Springs in ’89.”

The found footage trend is going nowhere, so while we’re here, we might as well pay tribute to the finest offerings to come out of the genre. But being that you’ve all either heard of or seen the Blair Witch Projects and Paranormal Activitys by now, we’re going to focus on the lesser-known creepfests for this week’s Screen Junkies Top Six. Let’s get started.

The Tunnel

(Yup, the full movie is available on Youtube, and we’re including it in this article. Deal. With. It.)

Essentially the As Above/So Below before As Above/So Below, this 2011 Australian horror flick swaps the catacombs of Paris for the train tunnels of Sydney and sees cute-as-a-button journalist Natasha (Bel Deliá) and her crew attempt to expose a government cover-up involving missing homeless people and underground, humanoid things. Featuring more night vision than the Paris Hilton sextape (ah thank you), The Tunnel is as terrifying as it is morbidly arousing. So right in my wheelhouse, basically.

Home Movie

Adrian Pasdar and Cady McClain star as David and Claire Poe, a priest and a psychologist stuck raising two kids literally sent from Hell. If there was ever a concept that screamed “make me into a sitcom or maybe a horror movie but definitely a sitcom,” it was this one.

As luck would have it, however, Home Movie is actually a pretty well-crafted entry into the found footage genre that just narrowly avoids most of its pratfalls. The setup is simple: Two whitebread parents who have a compulsive need to film every basic interaction with their shithead children slowly start to realize that their children are shitheads. Brooding, sociopathic shitheads. Dead pets start popping up around the house, other people’s kids get bitten, and before you know it, little Jack and Emily Poe are secretly plotting to take out their folks so they can continue their lives of cannibalism and probably incest. This is why normal families don’t film any of their interactions and generally avoid eye contact for most of their lives.

I don’t mean to be dramatic, but Home Movie is basically the culmination of every nightmare I’ve ever had, and the main reason I opted to get a vasectomy on my 18th birthday. I…I had a messed up childhood, you guys.

Cannibal Holocaust

I know I said I wouldn’t dip into the well-worn classics of the genre, but for me to lead a discussion about found footage filmmaking that doesn’t at least mention Ruggero Deodato’s 1980 exploitation flick would be like talking about my most cherished sexual experiences without mentioning my friend Kyle’s mom. And quite frankly, that’s not a discussion I’m about to have.

Not unlike sex with my friend Kyle’s mom, watching Cannibal Holocaust is a gritty, dirty experience that usually begins under sketchy circumstances and ends in genital mutilation. (There I go, discussing my childhood again.) If you can credit the movie with one thing, however, it’s commitment (from the film’s Wiki):

Deodato had all the actors sign contracts ensuring that “they would not appear in any type of media, motion pictures, or commercials for one year after the film’s release” in order to promote the idea that the film was truly the recovered footage of missing documentarians.

It’s a pretty great idea from a marketing standpoint, and one that only backfired when Deodato was arrested and charged with everything from obscenity to murder following the film’s premiere in Milan.

You see, the special effects in Cannibal Holocaust were so realistic that people actually began to believe the actors had been killed while filming it. While that would have undoubtedly proven this film’s commitment to the premise I was talking about earlier, it turned out not to be the case. Deodato brought his crew out of hiding and the charges were eventually dropped, although several countries (including Italy and Australia) went and slapped the ban hammer on the film anyway for its all too real depiction of violence toward animals, among other things.

But all the controversy aside, is Cannibal Holocaust any good? Nah, not really.

[Rec]

Easily the most well-received movie on the list, the 2007 Spanish thriller [Rec] was such an effective exercise in handheld terror that Hollywood felt the need to remake the movie the following year under the title Quarantine. Because even in a movie where 90% of the dialogue is screams of terror, subtitlz r 2 hard for ow powah wittle eyes. Way to go, America.

Trollhunter

It’s not often that the strength of a found footage movie is it’s worldbuilding, but in this regard, Norwegian dark comedy/horror Trollhunter stands above them all. (Troll puns, I got ‘em all day.) It’s a movie that takes an inherently dopey premise and wins you over simply by, again, committing to the material 110%. When Trollhunter is not beating you over the head with a barrage of information (all delivered in Otto Jespersen’s silky baritone), its placing you face to face with each different species of troll, all of whom are rendered in pretty damn impressive CGI.

How the ending of this movie hasn’t been turned into a ride remains one of the greatest tragedies in human history.

(Not Creepy But You Should See It Anyway): Lunopolis

Any overlooked or underrated found footage films you feel deserve a mention? Give us a shout on twitter @screenjunkies

]]>Sinister stars Ethan Hawke as a true-crime writer who moves his family into a murder house in the hopes of writing a book based off the strange occurence. But this isn’t just any ordinary murder house. This is the king of all murder houses, with at least five families having been slaughtered there under mysterious circumstances. Each of these grisly crimes are revealed as films of the murders are found in the attic and reveal a terrifying figure that comes to claim the life of whomever views him. Good luck with that, Ethan Hawke!

It looks to be a terrifying addition to the world of found footage films. We’ll know for sure when it opens in theaters on Friday, October 12th. In the meantime, have a look at the predecessors who will go down in history as fright classics.

Chronicle

Chronicle enjoyed a successful run in theaters thanks to some really strong word of mouth. In fact, the reaction so far has been “OMG!!!1!!!!!!!!BESTFILMEVAR!1,” which is pretty high praise, I’d say. The combination of little-known talent and cost-effective but awesome special effects made for a great movie, even though the pay-off doesn’t really do justice to the build-up.

REC

This story of a virus taking over an apartment building keeps the viewer guessing throughout. No character is safe, and those you’d expect to make it to the end credits meet abrupt demises. Before standing back up and going completely rabid on their surviving neighbors. You’ll want to deadbolt your doors after watching.

Cloverfield

Like Chronicle, Cloverfield was another winter found footage release that cleaned up at the box office. However, the Godzilla-esque monster movie suffered after its first week due to negative word of mouth. Which is insane, because it’s a great movie. Audiences found fault with the shaky camera work and lack of a typical Hollywood ending. Pretty harsh to bash something for switching up the same tired formula. That’s why you guys have all of those Vin Diesel movies.

The Paranormal Activity Series

Though it has collected its share of detractors, Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity films clean up at the box office for good reason. They’re really, really creepy. The camera techniques introduced in each of the films crank up the scares of The Blair Witch Project by layering the suspense with inventive devices. In other words, it takes the house Blair Witch built and makes its walls bleed.

The Blair Witch Project

Though not the first to use the style, it’s definitely the film that brought found footage to the mainstream. That’s not to say it’s not original or well done. Filmmakers cast their lead actors and then sent them out into the woods with cameras. No script. They literally left people in tents and then fucked with them at night. The result was a pretty organic and frightening ride-alone.

]]>Just as the 1980’s-set Paranormal Activity 3 terrorized us via a Teddy Ruxpin doll, the fourth installment seeks to give us chills via today’s hottest toy. Also, it serves as a chilling reminder that toys have really improved over the last 24 years.

In addition to Microsoft Kinect-centric scares, the new trailer for Paranormal Activity 4 also sets us up a bit more with the film’s plot. After a demonically-possessed woman is sent to the hospital, her kidnapped nephew is left to stay with the neighbors (Nevada law). From there, the camera and technology obsessed family notice strange happenings occuring around their young houseguest. If this family values their chandeliers and furniture AT ALL, they’ll turn that kid over to the proper authorities asap.